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Monday, July 1, 2013

Most Anticipated Films of 2014: Part 1

PART 1: FILMS WITH UNKNOWN U.S. RELEASE DATES

Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard)

The
most recent film by the legendary Godard, Film
Socialisme, shows that he’s just as experimental as ever. His upcoming
movie appears to continue this trend. Goodbye
to Language is being made in 3D, which may come as a bit of a shock to
Godard fans. I can’t even imagine how Godard would use 3D technology but the
result will undoubtedly be interesting.

Nymphomaniac (Lars Von Trier)

Von Trier’s films are always
controversial, and this one should be no exception. As the title suggests,
there will be explicit sex scenes. Supposedly, they will be unsimulated. This
shouldn’t be too shocking coming from Lars, as Antichrist featured a close up of a penis entering a vagina.
However, it is rumored the film will use CGI to put the faces of the well-known
stars on body doubles.

It stars Charlotte Gainsbourg as
Joe, the nymphomaniac of the title. She has starred in Von Trier’s last two
pictures, Antichrist and Melancholia. Also appearing are Stellan Skarsgård,
Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Willem Dafoe and Jamie Bell.

Reportedly, Nymphomaniac will be
released as a two-parter. The first is going to come out in Denmark on
Christmas (should be a good holiday movie for the family). It has not yet
received a United States release date. This is probably my most anticipated
film of 2014.

Inherent Vice
(Paul Thomas Anderson)

Anderson, the director of There Will Be Blood and The Master, is directing this adaption
of the 2009 Thomas Pynchon novel of the same name. Pynchon is one the most
influential postmodern authors. He has been writing since the 1950s and is most
known for V and Gravity’s Rainbow. He’s an excellent writer but his style doesn’t
seem to lend itself to a filmed adaptation. This is the first Pynchon work to
be made into a movie. But if anyone can do it, it would be the brilliant P.T.
Anderson, who also wrote the screenplay.

The star of The Master, Joaquin Phoenix, joins forces with Anderson once more
for this film. Other actors in this include Owen Wilson, Josh Brolin, Reese
Witherspoon, Benicio del Toro, and Jena Malone.

Vernon God Little
(Werner Herzog)

Vernon
God Little is the debut novel by DBC Pierre, written in 2003. It’s about a
fifteen year old boy whose friend commits suicide, leading to him being
suspected for murder. The acclaimed, eccentric director of Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo
is directing the adaptation. The screenplay is written by Andrew Birkin (The Name of the Rose, Perfume: The Story of
a Murderer).

Suspiria (David
Gordon Green)

Green is mostly known for directing
comedies such as Pineapple Express, The Sitter, and Your Highness. He’s also done several episodes of the HBO series Eastbound and Down. In 2014, he’s
intending to release a remake of the classic 1977 Dario Argento film, Suspiria. However, there is some doubt
as to if the movie will be actually be made due to legal issues.

Maps to the Stars
(David Cronenberg)

Not
much is known about the new Cronenberg film coming out next year. We do know he
is reuniting with Cosmopolis star
Robert Pattinson. Maps to the Stars
also features Mia Wasikowska, Julianne Moore, and John Cusack. The screenplay
is by Bruce Wagner, who wrote several episodes of State of the Union and A
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream
Warriors.

The plot synopsis on IMDB only
states, “Complex look at Hollywood and what it reveals about Western culture.”
An article on marieclaire.co.uk has a more enlightening plot summary. It reads
as follows: “Led by the loathsome yet funny and touching child-star Benjie, we
witness the convoluted world of shallow, selfish celebrities and their minions,
all of whom are about to be manipulated and destroyed by the young woman who
literally represents the fruit of their twisted machinations, Agatha, Benjie’s
tormented, apparently psychotic sister.”

The Lobster
(Yorgos Lanthimos)

Lanthimos is the director of the
highly acclaimed Dogtooth, as well as
Alps and Kinetta. According to ioncinema, “This is a love story set in a
dystopia, and Lanthimos has described the film as an observation of “the ways
and reasons certain people come together to form couples, while others don’t.”
Ioncinema lists this film as their most anticipated of 2014.